It's been the feel-good hit of the summer TV season so far - quite a surprise considering the idea of watching two blokes sitting on a river bank for 30 minutes hardy sounds like a winning propositon.

But BBC Two's Gone Fishing with Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse has proved a huge success with both critics and fans alike during its six-week run - and, in this week's final episode, the much-loved Fast Show star was shown happily whistling Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau to himself whilst trying to catch pike on the River Stour in Dorset.

Long time pals Bob and Paul bonded over catching fish (Image: BBC)

That's because Whitehouse, who may sound like a Cockney with his constant 'innits' and 'd’ya know wot I means', was actually born in Stanleytown in the Rhondda - a fact which many people may not know.

"We left Wales for north London when I was just four, but I have treasured memories of the place and, to this day, a big chunk of me still feels very Welsh," the 60-year-old funnyman once revealed.

"I particularly remember my mum filling me a tin bath by the fire, which I know sounds like a corny Hovis advert, but it’s true."

Whitehouse - who, like fellow comic Mortimer, recently underwent heart surgery - added it was being uprooted from the Valleys that led to him discovering his talent for mimicry, which would later see him crowned king of such comedy catchphrases as 'Suit You, Sir' and 'Brilliant!'.

That time celebrity Fast Show fan Johnny Depp turned up on one of Paul's 'Suit you' sketches (Image: BBC)

Read More

"At my new English school I didn't say a word for weeks, I called it my 'silent month'.

"I think it was because everyone was speaking so differently from how it had been in Wales.

"Then, all of a sudden, I came home one day and said, 'Muumm, I wanna go to Southend', except I pronounced it 'Sarfend'.

"For her that was the end because I had lost my lovely Welsh lilt.

Angling for laughs (Image: BBC)

"I still got a bit schizo when I went back to Wales to see my auntie Norma or someone though, because by the time I’d reached the tolls on the Severn Bridge I’d be sounding all Welsh again, 'like that, you see'.

"Then, on the return trip, I’d go back to talking like Alf Garnett," laughed Whitehouse.